The Girl Who Never Was

"I want to solve the mystery of you."

Writer: Alan Barnes
Format: Audio
Released: December 2007
Series: Main Range 103

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley

Synopsis

"Dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot. Someone's listening. Somewhere."

A ghost ship.

A girl with no memory, adrift in time.

An old enemy.

This could be Charlotte Pollard's finest hour - or her last.

Set course for Singapore, 1931.

Journey's end.

Verdict

The Girl Who Never Was was an excellent audio adventure and an emotional end to the adventures of the Eighth Doctor and Charley. I had hoped that following C'rizz's departure in Absolution we may have gotten a few stories again with just this pairing but it wasn't to be. After a shaky end to that aforementioned story, I'm glad that the pair ended on a high. I thought the setting and focus on the S.S. Batavia was great and I found the shifts in timezone from 1942 and 2008 very intriguing. I liked the format with the story simultaneously taking place in both periods with Charley having found her way back into the past. The 2008 setting featuring an elderly Charley was quite surprising to say the least and I loved the Doctor's reaction to meeting her. I was intrigued that she had no memory of the Doctor but the revelation that she was actually Madeleine was brilliant and unexpected. It did make sense though and I was very glad that when the Doctor found himself back in 1942, things led up to the events we had already listened to. The inclusion of the Cybermen was terrific and I liked how Charley used her experience of meeting them in Sword of Orion to her advantage. I thought the voices were interesting though as they sounded more reminiscent of the Mondasian Cybermen from The Tenth Planet rather than the design that came with The Invasion. I thought it was fantastic that the Cyber Planner featured and the way Charley took on the role as Cyber Leader was very good. The way their involvement and the fact they came from the year 500,002 was integrated into the story was very good and I liked how they had a complete disregard for changing history by converting humanity's past into their own kind. Byron was a brilliant character and his involvement in both timezones was terrific. He made a good villain and his greedy intentions were exactly what you would expect of someone with his personality. The ship containing gold was good and I like how that can be utilised as the Cybermen's obvious weakness. Paul McGann was outstanding yet again as the Eighth Doctor and I am now very excited to be in a position to listen to the Eighth Doctor Adventures. I have been waiting a very long time for those! The Doctor's relationship with Charley was wonderful and I loved hearing how much he cared for. After sinking the ship and the Cybermen with it, I thought the way he left Charley because of the HADS was very emotional but I found the post-credits scene with Charley's memoirs mightily intriguing. It seems she was reunited with an earlier Doctor given the noise the TARDIS doors made when they opened but just how that is possible will be answered on another day. For now, it seems the girl who shouldn't have been has not finished having her adventures but her time with the Eighth Doctor is sadly up. I have loved her as a companion with the Eighth Doctor and I look forward to her future adventures. They have been one of my very favourite pairings and I'm glad their run together finished on a high. Overall, a fantastic audio adventure!

Rating: 9/10